Out at the polls: Judicial and Row Offices

Each election cycle, PGN reaches out to candidates in contested races to explore their positions on LGBT issues. Below is a summary of the interviews we conducted this fall, as well as in advance of the spring primary, with candidates in state judicial elections and local row races. Candidates who did not respond to our requests for interviews are listed below each section.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Christine Donohue (D)

Donohueforjustice.com

The daughter of a United Mine Worker and a union seamstress, Superior Court Judge Christine Donohue has roots in working-family values.

Throughout her career, Donohue has had the opportunity to litigate or preside over landmark cases protecting the rights of injured persons, holding corporations accountable for fraudulent behavior, eliminating bias against LGBT parents in custody matters and more.

Donohue supports marriage equality, the statewide LGBT nondiscrimination and hate-crimes bills and LGBT-specific sensitivity training for judges and court employees.

Donohue also said the judicial system can do more to combat hate crimes against LGBT people.

“As judges we must educate ourselves on all LGBT issues, including the insidious nature of crimes directed at members of the LGBT community,” Donohue said. “Within the context of our written decisions, judges can educate members of the bar and the public on the impact of such offenses on members of the LGBT community and society as a whole.”

Donohue added that, during her 2007 campaign for Superior Court, she hosted a reception at her home for former Congressman Barney Frank and, during that campaign, earned endorsements of the Liberty City Stonewall Democrats, the Steel City Stonewall Democrats and the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh.

 

Kevin Dougherty (D)

Doughertyforpa.com

Judge Kevin Dougherty is looking to bring his nearly 15 years on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to the state’s top court.

During his tenure as administrative judge of the Philadelphia Family Court, Dougherty said he worked to advance the interests of all children, including LGBT youth.

“Whether the issue was custody rights, discrimination issues or violence perpetrated against someone because of hate, I made sure that my Family Court was one where all members of the LGBT community got a fair shake,” he said.

Dougherty said he worked collaboratively with the commissioner of the Department of Human Services to ensure the “safety, treatment and education of transgender youth in juvenile detention. As a result, we established protocols and an educational curriculum for court employees related to the special needs of transgendered youth.”

After learning about a fellow Family Court judge who mistreated a transgender youth who came through the system, Dougherty said he volunteered to handle all cases of trans youth.

“I recruited judges belonging to the LGBT community to educate myself so that I could treat my transgender kids with respect and dignity and ensure that they received the services they needed to get back on their feet,” he said.

As administrative judge, he selected the first openly gay woman to serve as the chief of court operations. He additionally recruited the first openly gay male and female judges to serve in the Family Division, he noted.

“I strongly value the importance of ensuring that those who work in public service at any level reflect the diversity of the communities they serve,” he said.

Dougherty said he is a longtime supporter of marriage equality and the inclusion of LGBT protections in state nondiscrimination and hate-crimes laws.

 

David Wecht (D)

Wecht2015.com

Prior to becoming a Superior Court judge in 2012, David Wecht spent nearly a decade as a trial judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

In that role, Wecht said, he had the opportunity to preside over same-sex adoptions and custody cases, as well as name-change cases for transgender petitioners.

Wecht said he could not comment on the proposed LGBT nondiscrimination bills, per judicial regulations, but said he is a “firm believer in equality” and has “practiced nondiscrimination throughout my professional career.”

He added that he was “personally thrilled” when the U.S. Supreme Court brought marriage equality to the nation this past summer.

General judicial reforms he has proposed include a ban on gifts to judges, an end to judicial nepotism, a requirement that judges respond on the record to all recusal requests, the installation of cameras in Pennsylvania courtrooms and mandatory ethics training for all judicial candidates.

Wecht would support LGBT-specific sensitivity training for judges and court employees.

“I am dedicated to ensuring that the privileges and protections of our society are made equally available,” he said. “Although I cannot promise to espouse a particular ideology if elected to the Supreme Court, I do promise that, if elected, I will consider each of the issues before the court with an open mind and an unshakeable conviction that the benefits and protections of the law must be made equally available to all.”

*Voters will elect three candidates to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Other candidates include Republicans Anne Covey, Michael George and Judy Olson and Independent Paul Panepinto.

 

Pennsylvania Superior Court

Alice Beck Dubow (D)

The daughter of the first female elected to the Pennsylvania Superior Court is looking to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

After earning her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Dubow went on to build a diverse legal career, including work as a trial, appellate-court and commercial litigator, and later as Philadelphia’s Assistant City Solicitor and Divisional Deputy City Solicitor.

Dubow said she supported LGBT equality throughout her career, including encouraging gay couples to remain foster parents, ensuring LGBT teens were placed in supportive environments and, most recently, officiating the weddings of same-sex couples days after marriage equality came to Pennsylvania, which she said was one of the “proudest moments” of her career.

“Even more meaningful was when I officiated at the marriage of dear friends of mine who have been together for 25 years,” she added.

Dubow said she could not comment on the proposed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination and hate-crimes bills because of judicial regulations but noted she is “personally troubled” by LGBT discrimination.

She would support LGBT-specific sensitivity training for judges and court employees, particularly regarding transgender issues.

“I have found that many of my colleagues lack experience in dealing with the transgender community, so it is crucial to educate judges throughout the commonwealth on transgender issues,” she said.

“I bring a deep and fundamental belief that our justice system services no one if it cannot serve everyone fairly,” Dubow added.

*Voters will elect one candidate to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Republican Emil Giordano is also running.

 

Commonwealth Court

Michael Wojcik (D)

During his tenure as Allegheny County Solicitor, Michael Wojcik said he prioritized diversity, hiring more people of color and LGBT people than any of his predecessors.

“I am committed to workplace diversity whenever possible and practicable,” Wojcik said.

As solicitor, Wojcik helped draft and enact the legislation that established the Allegheny County Human Relations Commission, which enforces an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law.

Wojcik said he could not comment on the proposed statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination and hate-crimes bills because of judicial regulations. He added that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that brought marriage equality nationwide is “the law of the land and should be applied universally.”

Wojcik supports LGBT-specific sensitivity training for judges and court employees.

“Judges and judicial staff are developing policies and procedures to increase sensitivity and awareness to the needs of LGBT people who have entered the judicial system, as victims of crimes or as accused perpetrators,” he said, regarding the role of the judiciary in combatting violence against LGBT people. “Education and awareness are the best methods that the judiciary can employ in this regard.”

If elected, Wojcik said, he would advocate for the court to hand down decisions more quickly and issue more precedental opinions. In light of recent judicial scandals, Wojcik said he would work to be an example of the standards to which members of the judiciary should be held.

“A Commonwealth Court judge, on his or her own, cannot effect systemic change throughout the statewide judiciary, but one judge can hold himself or herself to higher ethical and moral standards, thereby helping to restore the esteem of the judiciary,” he said. “If I am fortunate enough to be elected to Commonwealth Court, I will maintain the highest moral and ethical standards and will try to instill the same throughout the statewide judiciary.”

*Voters will elect one candidate to the Commonwealth Court. Republican Paul Lalley is also running.

 

Sheriff

Christopher Sawyer (R)

phlsheriff.com

Anti-blight activist, property-issue blogger and engineer Christopher Sawyer, who is openly gay, is seeking to bring reforms to the Sheriff’s Office.

“I know how to deliver reforms that will actually help our neighborhoods and know what needs to be done to make that happen. I am the progressive reformer the Sheriff’s Office needs,” he said.

Such reforms include building a Transparency Unit to publish the office’s records; completing a forensic audit of the office; increasing press access to members of the Sheriff’s Office; developing new means of communicating Sheriff’s Sales opportunities to the public; implementing a Homeowner Assistance Unit; lobbying for changes to the City Code to permit transfers among the Sheriff’s Office, the Philadelphia Land Bank and Redevelopment Authority; and exploring moving the office out of Center City to cut costs.

Sawyer volunteers for Pennsylvania Competes, a coalition working to advance the proposed statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination bill and said that having an openly LGBT official helming the Sheriff’s Office would have a “psychological effect on deputy sheriff officers and staff in how they interact in public.”

If elected, he said he would mandate LGBT-sensitivity training for Sheriff’s Office employees, which he would conduct.

“I am running for sheriff because I want a Sheriff’s Office that the public will respect and [that] contributes to a 21st-century Philadelphia that has less blight, less poverty and more opportunity.”

 

Jewell Williams (D)

Sheriffjewellwilliams.com

Prior to being elected sheriff in 2012, Jewell Williams spent more than a decade as a Pennsylvania state legislator.

In that capacity, he cosponsored the LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination and hate-crimes bills and voted against legislation to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

As sheriff, Williams said, he has been a “strong, transparent, decisive, fair and productive leader.”

In his first term, he said, he focused on “increased efficiency, accessibility and transparency in operations.” That work has included stepping up efforts to return money to owners of foreclosed properties that sold for more than their outstanding debts; collecting $66 million for the city last year from delinquent tax, water and gas bills; seeing double-digit increases in delinquent collections each year of his term; and handling between 4,200-4,800 foreclosures and 4,000-4,200 tax sales each year.

His office has held numerous foreclosure-prevention seminars and workshops and offers a monthly session, in both English and Spanish, on how to purchase a property at Sheriff’s Sale.

“I look forward to carrying out another term of service, professionalism and excellence,” he said. “I hope to continue my work here at the Sheriff’s Office toward further modernizing operations and educating the community about foreclosures. More stable communities translate into a more productive Philadelphia for us all.”

 

Register of Wills

Ronald Donatucci (D)

Ronald Donatucci has served as Philadelphia’s Register of Wills for more than 30 years and is seeking a 10th term.

The Temple University grad served as a Pennsylvania state lawmaker for several years before assuming the role of Register in 1980.

Among its responsibilities, the Register of Wills Office handles documents relating to wills, estates and inheritance tax, as well as oversees marriage records and issues marriage licenses.

In 2014, the day a federal judge was expected to rule on Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage, Donatucci pledged to keep his office open late if a favorable ruling came down, following through on that promise when it did. In the ensuing days, his office processed hundreds of applications by same-sex couples.

 

Ross Feinberg (R)

Ross Feinberg wants to revamp the office of the Register of Wills. 

Among his reforms, Feinberg said he would eliminate the office as an elected position, absorb it into the court system and streamline the office to speed services and cut costs.

If elected, Feinberg said he would ensure that events like Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses would not happen in Philadelphia.

“The Register of Wills Office is an office for the people of Philadelphia and everyone will be served with equal respect,” he said.

Feinberg is a supporter of and volunteers for Pennsylvania Competes, the coalition working to advance the statewide LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law.

He said he would instate a no-tolerance policy for any form of discrimination and would offer nondiscrimination-sensitivity training for employees.

Feinberg said his diverse career experiences have prepared him for the position.

“I’ve been a trader on Wall Street, served in the Navy, have been a caregiver and have been a business owner. I have always led by example and wouldn’t ask someone to do something I would be unwilling to do myself,” he said. “I expect a lot out of people; in turn, they get the best out of myself. I try to inspire those that work hard for me.”

Feinberg said diversity has also been part of his personal life; his daughters are biracial and his stepbrother is gay.

“I would hope that I earn everyone’s vote not only because I am supportive but because I am the best man for the job and the plans I have for the Register of Wills Office are the best option,” he said.